SooHoo-Lau Wedding Altar

Construction: 1999
Architect: Leticia & Jeff Soohoo
Contractor: Yi-Hsiu Yeh & Paul Holmquest

The Soohoo-Lau Wedding Altar consisted of an 8’x8’ platform and an 8’x9’ stage wall designed by Leticia and Jeff Soohoo for their Buddhist wedding ceremony. The stage was constructed in Los Angeles and then transported to the ceremony and reception site at the Marin Headlands Center for the Arts, located just north of San Francisco, across the Golden Gate Bridge. After the wedding, the stage was moved to the bride and groom’s home, where it was installed as a “Japanese Room.” All finishes, including the wall, flooring, and woodwork, were treated as permanent finish carpentry to ensure lasting beauty and functionality.

Yi-Hsiu Yeh, a classmate of the bride at SCI-Arc, was honored to accept the commission for constructing the wedding altar on the condition that another classmate, Paul Homquest, would join the project. The two had just over one month to complete the project, from selecting the hardwood (5/4 rough sawn Maple boards were procured to achieve the specified 1” thick skirting) to framing, installing lighting and finish woodwork, and pre-finished Maple flooring. To minimize any deformation of the substrates and ensure the finishes’ stability during handling and transportation, all framing was built at 12” o.c. with a robust installation method for the flooring. A lectern-like stand holding a flower vase cantilevered from the edge of the platform was installed with concealed bolts, allowing it to be detached for transport.

The stage wall was designed to express a slippage of two planes – one concealed a light fixture to wash over the other. The light also illuminated a red acrylic sign silk-screened with a “union” motif. It was designed by the bride and groom, inspired by the openings at Carlos Scarpa’s Brion Cemetery, a site the couple visited and the marriage proposed. The stage held a beautiful ceremony; another site of profound memory was forged and cherished by the couple forever.

Special thanks to SCI-Arc Wood & Metal Shop.